Millions remain under storm watch after US officials downgrade Hurricane Lee

The US National Hurricane Centre downgraded Hurricane Lee to a post-tropical cyclone but millions of people remain under storm watch with warnings of hurricane-force winds, torrential rain and coastal flooding.

Severe conditions were predicted as a possibility across portions of Massachusetts and Maine and hurricane conditions could hit the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where the storm had been predicted to make landfall later on Saturday.

The storm was located about 370km southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and about 354km southeast of Eastport, Maine on Saturday morning.

There were about 20,000 power outages from Massachusetts to Maine early on Saturday. There were reports of trees down in Hancock and Washington counties in eastern Maine, said Todd Foisy, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Maine.

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“We have a long way to go and we’re already seeing downed trees and power outages,” Mr Foisy said on Saturday.

Peak gusts are projected to be 70mph on the coast in eastern Maine, but there will be gusts of up to 50mph across a swath more than 600kmwide, from Maine’s Moosehead Lake eastward to the ocean, he said.

Cruise ships found refuge at berths in Portland, while lobstermen in Maine and elsewhere pulled their traps from the water and hauled their boats inland.

Lee already lashed the US Virgin Islands, the Bahamas and Bermuda before turning northward and heavy swells were likely to cause “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions” in the US and Canada, the hurricane centre said.

Parts of coastal Maine could see waves up to 15ft high, causing erosion and damage, and the strong gusts will cause power outages, said Louise Fode, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Maine.

As much as 5in (12cm) of rain was forecast for eastern Maine, where a flash flood watch was in effect.

Thunderstorms in UK

Almost a month’s rain could fall on parts of the UK on Sunday, the Met Office has said.

The forecasting body issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms across the region, covering cities including Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea.

Homes and businesses could also be in danger of flooding quickly in “torrential downpours”, although the risk is said to be low, as up to 70mm of rain falls in a few hours in some spots.

The September average rainfall for the region is 92.45mm. – PA, AP